Changing Perspectives

Just like our priorities change as we learn and grow – and age – our perspective changes too. The way we look at things evolves based on our life experiences. Some of the change is a safety mechanism as we learn we are in fact not indestructible like we were when we were kids – hence potential increased risk aversion. Other factors revolve around growing up, getting more responsibility, trying to balance work and life, and increasing family obligations.

The trigger for this topic came a couple of weeks ago when I found myself rejoicing on a rainy day, gladly forfeiting our outdoor plans for the much-needed rain as our area is in a severe drought. On this day, my wife and I headed to the Shore to see a friend’s band play outside in a beer garden. The gig got rained out after only 4 songs and my younger self would have been really annoyed that the rain ruined our plans. My current self, while disappointed, was glad to see the rain. While our plans were changed (not ruined), we got to see our friend for a bit and had some really good food before heading back north. Not what we planned, but still a nice evening.

Through life experience, things that used to be “big” issues become little things that we don’t stress about, while some things we didn’t even consider as our younger self now become major. When we are younger, down-time may be boring or lonely, and avoided at all costs. As we get older – and wiser – down-time becomes time to re-charge and re-energize ourselves. Our young selves don’t normally think about health issues, but the older we get the more important our health becomes, and chances are we’ll deal with some kind of significant health issue at some point.

Those late-night outings lose their appeal as we age. In our 20s we’re just going out at 11:00 PM. Our older selves may groan about just being out that late as it’s "passed our bedtime". I remember when I was in my late 20s asking a cousin 10 years older than me, and with a stressful job, if he wanted to see a friend’s band play on a weeknight with a start time of 10:00. He chuckled at the suggestion of going out that late. I didn’t get it then, but I sure understand now!

An example of my own changing perspective happened on a recent kayak trip with a friend. I’ve kayaked before but this time it would be in an inflatable kayak and through a tidal inlet. My younger self would have focused on the choppy inlet water, but my older self was apprehensive about just getting in and out of the kayak from the dock - without falling in the water. With the mantra of “it’s better to be a bit embarrassed but safe than neither”, I sat on the dock and moved my butt into place very gingerly to get in. Getting out was a bit harder as the tide was down a bit so the distance from kayak to dock was more challenging. Taking my new mantra to heart I got my arms and chest on the dock and rolled my way out of the kayak onto the safety of that wonderful wood platform. I swear I heard my friend’s dog - that rode on his paddle board without issue - snicker at the sight. No matter, I was safely on “land” again.

Embrace how your perspective changes as you age. It’s life experience that is causing the change and that is a good thing. It means you are growing and evolving, not just getting older. And when you realize you’re viewing a situation differently than when you were younger, take a moment to think about why that is. You might learn something about yourself and may even develop a new perspective.

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com 9-12-2022